Spaces between Seconds
by Anewa
Summary: The quiet in between the storms. The Empire's Wrath contemplates her current situation, her wayward companions and her thirst for revenge. Drabble, based on my DS Warrior, who is pretty...well, dark, but still has a big heart for those close to her. Warrior/Malavai Quinn Takes place after chapter 12 of kotfe
The sun is rising over Odessen, heralding a new day, its rays slowly but surely invading the planet's every corner.

The Light conquering the Dark.

You stop as the metaphor manifests itself inside your head, unwanted.

No, you think. Every morning the sun may banish the darkness, but in the evening it comes crawling back, its shadows stretching out until they have suffocated the brightness of the day. The dark cannot be extinguished, it can only be contained. The Empire will rise again. You will rise again.

The current struggle goes beyond the eternal fight between light and dark. The Eternal Empire of Zakuul does not embody the dark or the light side, it is neither, and at the same time both.

It infuriates you, it goes against everything you have ever learned. It is wrong, it needs to be destroyed. Arcann and his people are abominations. The thought that they should rule over the galaxy makes you sick.

You may have found yourself the commander of an alliance between Republic and Empire, but you are still Sith, you know where your loyalties lie. You may play along for now, but your Republic allies are merely a tool to reach your final goal. Once the Eternal Empire is defeated and you have ascended to the throne, you will crush them.

The Empire and the Republic, the Sith and the Jedi, they will never be able to coexist peacefully. The current alliance may give hope to fools, but you are not as deluded. The Republic will fall. Eventually.

A feeling of loneliness creeps into your heart, your mind. Not that you would admit to it of course. Such pathetic sentiments are utterly unbecoming of a Dark Lord of the Sith, the Empire's Wrath.

You have gotten too used to your crew being around, have grown too close to them. They invaded your life until they found their way everywhere, crawling into every single piece of your existence without you noticing until it was too late. They were there with you on the battlefield, supporting you through every hardship, every betrayal.

Well, you think bitterly, except once. But that is in the past. A different life almost. You made your choices back then, you do not regret them.

As you continue to watch the sun rise over Odessen, you feel yourself wondering about the fate of your former companions, like you have wondered countless times before. Out of all of them you have only managed to locate Pierce so far. He seemed to have missed the adrenaline rush of battle during your absence, but it did not seem like he missed _you_ too much. Maybe he is just good at hiding it. After all, you are too.

You cannot help but wonder what Broonmark is doing right now. Maybe the Talz has already gotten itself killed. He was only ever a weapon to you, you fueled his hatred to make him into a perfect killing machine. He disgusts you.

So why is there that slight, yet painful pull at your dark heart at the thought of the bloodthirsty Talz succumbing his many enemies, his black bug-eyes closing for the last time?

Then, there is Jaesa. You worry about her. She is strong with the Force, no doubt, but she is also hot-headed and quick to overestimate herself. She is, after all, not a Sith-Lord yet and she still has much to learn. Things you should be teaching her now, things you should have taught her throughout the last five years that were stolen from you. You worry for your wayward apprentice, but at the same time, you know she will be fine. You will see her again.

At least Vette had someone she could go to. She is probably with her sister right now, most likely up to her head in some kind of mischief. The thought makes you smile. She has almost become like a sister to you. Something you would have never thought possible when you first met her. An alien slave and a Sith-Lord fraternizing. Impossible. But something about Vette has molten your heart of stone, everyone else you would have obliterated for their rude comments, tricks or back talk, but with Vette you just rolled your eyes and moved on, sometimes even with a smile on your face. She had been with you from the very start and your bond with her was what had slowly but surely spread across the whole crew, uniting them into one big, mismatched family. With them you could let down your guards, relax and be the person you are beyond the Sith Lord.

Eventually though, this unity was almost torn apart completely, not from Republic forces, but from within.

Malavai Quinn broke more than just your trust. When he betrayed you, to Baras of all people, and tried to murder you, he also took a small part of your heart with him.

For the first time in your life you had let your guard down low enough to allow something close to affection into your life. As a Sith, passion is the focus of your entire being, but with Malavai the word became an entirely new meaning.

You should have killed him, you know you should have. It was the logical thing to do, the Sith way. Still you could not, no, you decided not to. Other Dark lords might sneer at you and call you weak, but you do not regret this decision. You could never regret it.

It had taken a long while, but eventually you came to trust him again, allowed him back into your bed and eventually your heart.

Your hand wanders to the ring on your right hand finger. It is still there, after all these years. No one had attempted to take it from you, not even when you were frozen in carbonite. Just as well, you would have crushed anyone who tried anyway. It is everything that is left, one of the only surviving reminders of the life you had. The life they took from you. You feel the anger boil inside of you, the thirst for revenge.

The only way you will be able to sleep tonight will be the certainty that one day, you will spill Arcanns blood with your lightsaber, his and his demented sister's. They will lie bleeding at your feet and you will smile at their pain. You will see your friends again. And then you will have your revenge.

It will be without mercy.


End file.
